Lluvias de Mayo | Rains of May
From its heights, the tree shares its remembrances with us: from extraordinary fruits, drops fall on metallic drums placed around its trunk. Each drum represents one year in the life of the tree and has an inscription with the memories of the people. Individual stories shape collective history.
During the night, some lights illuminate the branches. They invite us to dive into the memories and to listen to the present around us, every drop keeps passing time.
Are those the tears from the tree?
Is he nostalgic about the past or is he sad about the current state of the world?
In a village where flooding are frequent, pictures and documents are rare, the water of the river takes the memories away. Drops erase the words in each drum, memories are ephemeral…
Paso de Telaya, Veracruz | Fundación Casa Proal | Mayo 2020
In collaboration with Francisco Hebrard, Hilario Quijano, Alfredo de Jesús Méndez, Arturo Bello, Felipe Trueba, Carlos Thomas and inhabitants from Paso de Telaya.
with : Adam Hebrard, Adriana Franco, Alejandra Rincón, Alfredo Fernández, Andrés Pergola, Arcadio Cruz, Carla Méndez, Carlos Callejas, Carlos Méndez, Catalina Segura, Cesar Méndez, Cristóbal López, Dana Arellano, Demetrio Franco, Diana Franco, Domingo Romero, Eddie Rodríguez, Eduardo Vázquez, Eliseo Quijano, Emma Peña, Emmanuel Yosmar Rodríguez, Ermilo Herández, Eriberto Romero, Esteban Cárdenas, Eva Hebrard, Gino Díaz, Griselda Méndez, Inés Hebrard, Irene Baca, Iván Quijano, Jacqueline Ramos, Jenifer Díaz, Joaquín Díaz, Jorge Méndez, José Luis Méndez, José Luis Méndez Delón, José Luis Tirado, Juan-Carlos Proal, Manuel Eusebio, Mari Franco, María Rosenda Pérez, Maribel Méndez, Marisol Eusebio, Margarita Lemos, Mercedes Méndez, Mundo Chávez, Noé Rodríguez, Noelia Quijano, Lalo Valdez, Paulette Díaz, Pedro Díaz, Pedro Méndez, Reyes Díaz, Ricardo Franco, Rosa Salazar, Rosalía Méndez, Samuel Proal, Sandra Méndez, Sergio Quijano, Teresa Sánchez, Valeria Trueba, Víctor Méndez, Víctor Manuel Méndez, Yolanda Mauricio.
Fundación Casa Proal
Presidente Carlos Couturier
Director Carlos Thomas
Administración Carlos Moreno
Dirección Administrativa: José Gaya
Barro Negro: Julio Mateo Hernández
Coordinación Barro Negro: Beto Ruiz
Fibra de vidrio: Miguel “Don Fibras”
Thanks to Ana Cecilia Medina, Alejandro Luperca Morales, Andrea Valencia, Cinthya García Leyva, Daniel Godínez, Erick Meyenberg, Sara Lana and Tania Candiani.
Site specific installation : Paso de Telaya (Veracruz, Mx)
Exhibitions (video/ sound piece): Museo Amparo (Mx), Casa del Lago virtual (Mx, 2020), Laboratorio Arte Alameda (Mx, 2024),
Broadcast: Radio Grenouille (Fr), Les Siestes Électroniques (Fr)
Project realized during a residence program at Casa Proal in 2020.
Links:
Sound recording here (12min)
Interview about the installation here (in Spanish)
Live conversation & presentation on the project at UNAM
Pictures from the installation
Pictures of the process and installation with the inhabitants
Download the book “Memories of a Tree” in PDF here
